From Promises to Practice: The Leadership OPSEU Needs
👉 Explore our interactive Member-Driven Mandate dashboard at ram4change.ca/mandate
The origin story of my town halls
I know there are a lot of different virtual OPSEU calls happening around this election, so I wanted to take the time to explain why our town halls were intentionally designed differently from the campaign rallies that followed.
From the beginning, I've said that
"unions aren't built in boardrooms — they're built in break rooms, shop floors, and the places where everyday members actually work. And that while my experience gives me the tools to do this job, it is your reality that must set the agenda."
Friends, that's not something I said once in a speech and moved on from. It's the principle of my approach to leadership, and my team and I designed our entire State of Our Union town hall series around it.
My 25+ years as an OPSEU member, my experience as OPTrust Vice-Chair, my work on the OPS Unified bargaining team, my governance training, and my experiences as a local president, interim treasurer, and steward — all of it gives me the tools to do this job.
But tools alone won’t deliver for members — not unless they're paired with actually listening to our local presidents, our committee members, our stewards, our mobilizers, and each and every member across our province.
“I wanted to model the way OPSEU could better listen to members, and leverage technology and make data-driven decisions.”
The point of my calls wasn't to present a platform and ask for support. It was to find out what members are carrying — the workloads, the fear of speaking up, the grievances that drag on for years, the feeling of being an afterthought in decisions that shape your working lives — and build a mandate from it.
Since November, our town halls have been open to every OPSEU member across all 7 regions — including other campaigns, their teams, and anyone who disagreed with me running. This was very intentional because everyone, even people who see things differently than I do, deserves a voice in the future of this union.
Our sessions ran 90 to 120 minutes of real, active conversation. We tracked every question, every comment, every piece of feedback. We ran an aggregated analysis on the Zoom chats. We documented what members were telling us. And then we shared it — recaps to attendees and published online — because we were never going to gatekeep the insights. If I lose this election, the ideas that emerged from this process don't belong to my campaign. They belong to members.
600+ coded data points. Corrections, healthcare, colleges, courts, child protection, developmental services, long-term care, LCBO, universities — nearly every sector and division in this union, documented and organized.
Both the interactive dashboard and our town halls are a small demonstration of the change I spoke about bringing to the office of First VP/Treasurer.
In those town halls, I talked about what it would mean for OPSEU to be truly data‑informed: how we spend member dues, how we measure campaign impact, and how we make our work transparent instead of asking people to take it on faith. I believe in using data and modern tools to deliver for members.
I also spoke about the need to modernize our technology so we can make the work of local leaders more manageable, truly listen to members, and regularly communicate back to members so that we can rebuild trust while also being transparent about the decisions we make and why.
If this concept can be modelled with a small team and limited resources, imagine what we could do if the office of the First VP/Treasurer is fully committed to driving results that directly solve member pain points.
My leadership isn’t built on empty promises; it’s built on the active practice of my beliefs
If you know me, or if you’ve been paying attention to this campaign, you already know: my leadership isn’t built on promises — it’s built on practice. This proof-of-concept is also a practice: a live example of how I design strategy, demonstrate my ideas, and make them real for members.
I don't just talk about accountability, transparency, and respect. I consistently do them. I believe in lifelong learning and ongoing personal growth, so even before this campaign, I made it a point to learn from every member I sat across from, every conversation that challenged what I thought I knew, and every mistake I've made. That's how I've been showing up, and it's how I'll keep showing up, whether I win this seat or not.
I'll be honest, this campaign period has been eye-opening. Not because of how hard it is, but because of the tactics I've watched other campaigns use to undercut candidates when their own track record isn't enough to get them re-elected.
Members have told me — independently, across regions — that they're afraid to publicly support who they want to support because of what they've seen happen inside this union. My campaign has been on the receiving end of some of those tactics, too. Anyone seeking leadership in our union should, at a minimum, consistently practice our Statement of Respect, and I’ve been disappointed to see how often that standard is not being met.
So, my fellow members, with regionals so close and the future of our union at stake, I want to be clear about the kind of leadership I’m offering.
Leadership that actually walks the talk, leadership that goes high when others go low, and leadership that lets its work, track record, and ideas take center stage. Leadership that works to ensure your dues are spent responsibly and focused on delivering results for all members.
If that’s the kind of union you want to belong to, I’m asking you to help me build it by electing me as an Executive Board Member for Region 5 this weekend, and as First VP/Treasurer in April.
In solidarity,
